Hypertensive-like vascular lesions in a chimpanzee

Vascular changes identical to those in humans with hypertension are described in a 20-year-old female chimpanzee dying with acute pulmonary edema. Postmortem examination failed to disclose evidence of any of the disorders which are known to produce hypertension in humans or animals. A survey of sections from kidneys of chimpanzees of comparable age indicated that the changes observed in the present animal were not due to age alone. The heart was hypertrophied, and no valvular or other etiology was found at autopsy. The presence of hypertension was not documented during the life of the animal, because serial determinations of the blood pressure were not obtained.